This is about the Japanese version of the game of answers & questions. This version of Jeopardy! ran for ten years on Fuji Television from 1970 to 1980. It was hosted by Hiroshi Koizumi.
Gameplay[]
Every day, five or six contestants appeared on the show and chose from six categories ("Sports," "Entertainment/Music," "Literature/History," "Social Studies," "Science," and "Special" questions (which changed daily from categories other than the above five; originally called "Non-Section")), and had contestants choose questions from cards worth 10 to 50 points in order of lowest score (1,000 yen was awarded for every 10 points). As a rule, questions with lower scores tended to be questions close to general knowledge, while questions with higher scores tended to require deeper knowledge. Only the first question was chosen randomly by the host (usually 10 for the special question), and from the second question onwards, contestants who answered correctly could generally choose a question. All questions were in the buzzer format, and if the contestant answered correctly, the displayed points were added. If the contestant answered incorrectly, the corresponding points were deducted (points below 0 were displayed with a minus sign). There were also two hidden Chance cards, and only the contestant who found one had the right to answer (when drawn, a sound similar to a household chime would ring twice). Contestants could bet points within their range. However, if the score was below 50 points, contestants could bet up to 50 points. If the answer was correct, the bet points were added to the score, but if not, the bet points were deducted. The quiz ends when all the questions had been answered. The contestant with the highest score became the champion and won the right to compete in the championship tournament.
In the championship tournament, the "special questions" were replaced by the "non-section" genre. The points were also in 20-point increments, from 20 to 100 points. There were no chance cards. All contestants who participated in the championship tournament had a champion trophy attached to the left side of their seats.
Initially, the qualifying rounds were held from Monday to Friday, and the champions of each day competed in the championship tournament on Saturday, and the winner won a trip to Europe. However, if a player took a day off for baseball or other reasons, the tournament would be postponed by one day (for example, if a player took a Saturday off, the championship tournament would be held on the following Monday).
After the Saturday broadcast was discontinued in October 1974, the Monday through Thursday champions and the runners-up with the highest scores competed in the championship tournament on Friday.
The rules were later changed back to the original, and later revised so that if the same contestant won the top prize for three consecutive days, they would have a chance to win a trip to Europe.
There were two chances to answer the first question, which was a quiz where you looked at a riddle picture and had to answer it (you could move on to the second question even if you got it wrong). The second question was a multiple choice question, and you had to answer five of them within the time limit. If you answered three questions correctly, balloons and confetti would rain down from the ceiling and you would win a trip to Europe.
Special Tournaments[]
Only once or twice towards the end of the season, a special tournament was held with a prize of 1 million yen. Eight pairs participated.
The genre was the same as usual ("Special" is "non-section"), but there were no points. Contestants picked one card at a time from the top and answered the questions posed. For one correct answer, contestants won 1,000 yen. After that, the prize money doubled with each correct answer (1,000 yen → 2,000 yen → 4,000 yen...), so if they got a total of 11 questions correct, they won 1,000,000 yen (strictly speaking, it was 1,024,000 yen, but the Fair Trade Commission's regulations at the time allowed a maximum of 1,000,000 yen, after deducting income tax ). However, if they got it wrong, the money was confiscated (later this was changed to half being confiscated). And if they got four questions wrong, they were disqualified and taken out.
Later Changes[]
Towards the end, four pairs competed against each other.
First, a 10-point question was asked to each group, which also served as an introduction of the contestants. After one round of questions, two questions remained, so these were the "Europe Quiz," which will be described later. After that, host Koizumi chose the first 30-point question, and after that, contestants who got it right could generally choose a question. After all six 30-point questions were finished, six 50-point questions were asked in the same way. After all 50-point questions were finished, there was a jackpot chance, which will be described later, and then the quiz returned and questions of 100 points are asked. For the 100-point questions, a carryover system was used, and for questions that were not answered correctly, the points were added to the next question. When all questions had been answered, the top two groups with the highest total points were be the winners, and if they won three days in a row, they'd compete in the Europe Quiz, with a trip to Europe at stake.
Jackpot Chance[]
The rules varied depending on the time.
First Half[]
The team answering the last question correctly, worth 50 points, had a chance to win the jackpot. Each panel had four 50-point cards and two 100-point cards hidden inside. The team trying to win first opened the panel just below the question they just answered correctly, and then they had to guess whether the panel next to it was worth 50 or 100 points. If they got all of them right, they got a total of 400 points. Even if they failed along the way, they still got the total points from the panels they'd opened up to that point.
Second Half[]
In the later stages, the quiz was the same as the other questions, except that the points were secret. Each panel had one hidden card worth 10 points, one worth 30 points, one 50 points, one 70, and two hidden cards worth 100 points. If the answer was correct, points were added, and if the answer was incorrect, points were subtracted.
Europe Quiz[]
The pair winning three days in a row were able to take part in this. The questions were written ones that each person had to answer, and a partition was set up in front of the questions. The pair had to choose one of the remaining 10-point questions, and each person wrote their answer on a flip chart. If both people answered correctly, the pair won a trip to Europe, but if only one person answered correctly, only the person who answered correctly won the trip.
In addition, if the winner was unable to participate in the European trip due to work, illness, or a family tragedy, a proxy could participate (limited to spouse, siblings, or parents. There was an additional cost). The trip was also handled by Tokyu Tours (now Tobu Top Tours ).
Other Prizes[]
All contestants were awarded cash prizes and prizes from the sponsors as "participation prizes," and all competitors except the winner who advanced to the championship tournament were presented with paintings of famous European sites.